Research Designs and Special Education Research: Different Designs Address Different Questions

Abstract

The aim of this article is to provide practitioners and other nonresearchers a basic understanding of research designs to aid in appropriately interpreting and applying research findings in special education. Research design provides the blueprint for conducting a research study and shapes what kind of knowledge is generated by the study. We discuss the purpose of, types of questions addressed by, and different types of studies associated with four research designs commonly used in special education-descriptive, relational, experimental, and qualitative designs, as well as briefly review an example study using each research design. The take-away message of this article is that different research designs address different types of questions. Therefore, it is important that research consumers know what type of questions each research design addresses and interpret and apply research findings accordingly.

Using Single‐Case Research Designs to Examine the Effects of Interventions in Special Education

“…In this article, we describe single‐case design (SCD) research, with the goal of providing educators like Ms. Garcia with a foundation for interpreting, evaluating, and consuming SCD studies in order to identify research‐based instructional practices to consider using with their students. Cook and Cook () noted that the strongest evidence regarding whether and to what extent interventions cause improvements in target outcomes comes from research studies using experimental designs. That is, experimental research is appropriate for answering questions such as the one posed in Dr. Jerome's study: “Does a token economy increase student engagement?” Cook and Cook identified two types of experimental designs used in special education: group experiments and SCDs.…”

Customers satisfaction and brand loyalty at McDonalds Maroc

“…For this investigation, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to measure the impact of the independent variables, price (P), food quality (FQ), service quality (SQ), and physical environment (PE) on the dependent variables, customer satisfaction (CS) and brand loyalty (BL). We used a survey research design to assess the impact of the independent variables (P, FQ, SQ, PE) on the dependent variables (CS and BL) (Cook and Cook, 2016). The survey consists of 17 statements to which participants responded.…”

Do Research Findings Apply to My Students? Examining Study Samples and Sampling

“…Although the classical generalization model and probability sampling are sometimes applied in descriptive (e.g., survey studies) and relational research in special education, it is rare to see it applied in experimental research in special education. As experimental research is used to answer critical questions in special education, such as “is this intervention effective at improving student outcomes?” (Cook & Cook, ), it is important that special educators have an alternate approach for examining the likelihood that findings from experimental studies apply to their students.…”

“…Special educators are often asked to base their instructional practices on research findings. Indeed, scientific research—though far from perfect—“is the best trick we know for solving educational problems” (Crockett, , p. 189), because it produces knowledge using methodical and systematic methods (Cook & Cook, ). However, basing practice on research is not as easy as it may seem.…”

“…Indeed, scientific research-though far from perfect-"is the best trick we know for solving educational problems" (Crockett, 2004, Requests for reprints should be sent to Bryan G. Cook, University of Hawaii. Electronic inquiries should be sent to bgcook@hawaii.edu p. 189), because it produces knowledge using methodical and systematic methods (Cook & Cook, 2016). However, basing practice on research is not as easy as it may seem.…”